Readers’ Choice Award Winner 2026 | Best Known For: Mung Bean Pancake
For many diners, food is more than flavour. It is a memory. It is the taste of a family kitchen, the smell of a dish prepared by a parent, or the comfort of something familiar when you are far from home.
At Sum Seo Dang in Newington, that sense of nostalgia is at the heart of everything served. Named a Readers’ Choice Award Winner for 2026, the restaurant specialises in the traditional cuisine of Korea’s Gyeongsang region, bringing the honest, home-style flavours of the region to Sydney.
Leading the kitchen is Chef Heaven Kim, who grew up in Daegu and recreates the dishes she remembers eating throughout her childhood. After years working in Western cuisine, including as head chef at Paramount Coffee Project and owner of Chicken Institute Surry Hills, Chef Heaven’s approach to food has evolved. Rather than chasing trends or creating dishes designed purely to impress, she has returned to the simplicity and balance of traditional Korean cooking.
For Chef Heaven, authentic food is about preserving memories.
Over time, many traditional Korean dishes have changed - becoming sweeter, saltier, spicier and more heavily seasoned. At Sum Seo Dang, the focus is on bringing back the flavours of the past, creating food that tastes the way it was meant to taste without relying on artificial enhancements or overpowering seasoning.
This dedication has resonated particularly strongly with Korean diners, many of whom visit the restaurant seeking a taste of home. Guests from the Gyeongsang region, from their 30s through to their 80s, return for dishes that remind them of family meals and flavours they may have thought were lost.
The menu celebrates the comforting dishes of the region, including the Clear Pork Soup (Dwaeji Gomtang), a deeply nourishing bowl built around a carefully prepared broth, and the Gyeongsang-style Beef Soup with Rice, a traditional favourite full of rich, warming flavours.
Other highlights include the Charcoal Bulgogi with Anchovy Doenjang Stew, pairing smoky grilled beef with the earthy depth of fermented soybean stew, and the Seaweed and Oyster Soup with Rice, a delicate seafood dish showcasing the restaurant’s connection to traditional Korean flavours.
The restaurant is also loved for its Soy Sauce Marinated Crab, a classic Korean delicacy that balances sweetness, savoury depth and the natural flavour of fresh seafood.
No visit to Sum Seo Dang is complete without trying the restaurant’s homemade Sikhye - a traditional Korean drink made by naturally fermenting rice and malted barley. Often enjoyed as a refreshing dessert beverage or digestive after a meal, it provides a gentle sweetness and a nostalgic finish to the dining experience.
Alongside its regular menu, Sum Seo Dang also offers weekly specials, allowing Chef Heaven to continue exploring traditional dishes and share flavours that may not always appear on the main menu.
The restaurant’s famous Mung Bean Pancake remains a favourite among diners, with its crisp golden exterior and hearty filling of pork, fresh bean sprouts, bracken and kimchi. It is a dish that perfectly represents Sum Seo Dang’s philosophy - simple ingredients, traditional techniques and flavours that feel instantly familiar.
At Sum Seo Dang, food is not designed to follow the latest trends. It is designed to last.
Whether it reminds guests of a grandmother’s cooking, a mother’s soybean stew or a childhood meal shared with family, every dish reflects Chef Heaven Kim’s belief that the most meaningful food is often the most honest.
For anyone missing the flavours of home, or wanting to discover the comforting side of Korean cuisine beyond the familiar, Sum Seo Dang offers a genuine taste of Korea’s Gyeongsang region in the heart of Newington.
